Fingerprint acquisition apparatus and method therefor

1. A fingerprint acquisition apparatus used for sensing a pattern of a fingerprint, the fingerprint acquisition apparatus comprising:

a plurality of sensing units, each of the sensing units comprising:

a first metal plate;

a second metal plate;

a third metal plate; and

a built-in capacitor;

wherein for each sensing unit,

an inducing capacitor is formed between the first metal plate and the fingerprint when the sensing unit is touched by the fingerprint;

the built-in capacitor is connected between the second metal plate and the third metal plate; and

the built-in capacitor and the inducing capacitor together form a first potential when the sensing unit is touched by a ridge portion of the fingerprint, the built-in capacitor of the sensing unit and the inducing capacitor together form a second potential when the sensing unit is touched by a valley portion of the fingerprint, and the first potential is different from the second potential.

2. The fingerprint acquisition apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein each sensing unit further comprises:

a first switch connected between the first metal plate and a first voltage source;

a second switch connected between the first metal plate and the second metal plate; and

a third switch connected between the second metal plate and a second voltage source;

wherein, while the first switch and the third switch are turned on and the second switch is turned off, the first metal plate is coupled to the first voltage source to charge the inducing capacitor, the second metal plate is coupled to the second voltage source to charge the built-in capacitor, and while the first switch and the third switch are turned off and the second switch is turned on, the second metal plate outputs the first potential or the second potential according to whether it is a ridge portion of the fingerprint or a valley portion of the fingerprint that touches the sensing unit.

3. The fingerprint acquisition apparatus according to claim 2 , wherein the first switch and the third switch are controlled by a first switch signal, and the second switch is controlled by a second switch signal.

4. The fingerprint acquisition apparatus according to claim 3 , wherein the phase of the first switch signal is inverse to the phase of the second switch signal.

5. The fingerprint acquisition apparatus according to claim 2 , the first voltage source and the second voltage source are not the same.

6. The fingerprint acquisition apparatus according to claim 2 , wherein the third metal plate is a substrate.

7. The fingerprint acquisition apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein for each sensing unit, the capacitance of the inducing capacitor generated when a ridge portion of the fingerprint touches the sensing unit is larger than the capacitance of the inducing capacitor generated when a valley portion of the fingerprint touches the sensing unit, and the first potential is larger than the second potential.

8. A fingerprint sensing method applied in a fingerprint acquisition apparatus, wherein the fingerprint acquisition apparatus comprises a plurality of sensing units, each of the sensing units outputs a first potential according to the ridge portion of a fingerprint and outputting a second potential according to the valley portion of the fingerprint, the first potential is different from the second potential, each of the sensing units has a built-in capacitor, an inducing capacitor is formed when the fingerprint touches each of the sensing units, the method comprises:

(a) charging the inducing capacitor and the built-in capacitor of each sensing unit by a first voltage source and a second voltage source respectively;

(b) generating an output voltage according to the volume of charges stored in the inducing capacitor and the built-in capacitor, wherein the output voltage is either of the first potential or the second potential; and

(c) determining whether the value of the output voltage is the first potential or the second potential to decide whether each of the sensing units is touched by the ridge portion of the fingerprint or the valley portion of the fingerprint.

9. The fingerprint sensing method according to claim 8 , wherein the inducing capacitor is formed between the fingerprint and a first metal plate, the built-in capacitor is connected between a second metal plate and a third metal plate, the first voltage source charges the inducing capacitor via a first switch, the second voltage source charges the built-in capacitor via a third switch, the output voltage is outputted via the second metal plate according to the volume of charges of the inducing capacitor and the built-in capacitor after a second switch turns on and connects the first metal plate with the second metal plate.

10. The fingerprint sensing method according to claim 9 , wherein the first voltage source and the second voltage source are not the same.

11. The fingerprint sensing method according to claim 8 , wherein capacitance of the inducing capacitor generated when the ridge portion of the fingerprint is touched is larger than capacitance of the inducing capacitor generated when the valley portion of the fingerprint is touched, and the first potential is larger than the second potential.

12. A fingerprint acquisition apparatus used for sensing pattern of a fingerprint, the fingerprint acquisition apparatus comprising a plurality of sensing units, each of the sensing units having a built-in capacitor, wherein for each of the sensing units,

an inducing capacitor is formed when the sensing unit is touched by the fingerprint;

a capacitance of the inducing capacitor generated when a ridge portion of the fingerprint touches the sensing unit is larger than a capacitance of the inducing capacitor generated when a valley portion of the fingerprint touches the sensing unit,

the built-in capacitor of the sensing unit and the inducing capacitor together form a first potential when the sensing unit is touched by a ridge portion of the fingerprint,

the built-in capacitor of the sensing unit and the inducing capacitor together form a second potential when the sensing unit is touched by a valley portion of the fingerprint, and

the first potential is larger than the second potential.